Renee Rosenow

While attending college, students may fall victim to unhealthy lifestyles.ÿWhether it be excessive drinking or eating or just a lack of exercise, students may be going down a dangerous road.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 18.2 million people in the United States have diabetes. Of those, about 7,700 enroll in college
each year.ÿ

Type 1 diabetes is also referred to as juvenile diabetes because it occurs most often in childhood.ÿ According to the American Diabetes Association, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that causes the pancreas to stop producing insulin, which the body needs.

Due to the insulin deficiency, a type 1 diabetic is equipped with a pump to act as a mechanical pancreas, which monitors their glucose levels and pumps insulin into the body.ÿLife used to be a lot more inconvenient for someone with type 1 diabetes, according to the ADA;ÿhowever, new advancements in diabetes treatment and technologies have made life a lot easier.ÿ

When insulin pumps first came out, they were very slow to produce readings for glucose levels.ÿ However, the insulin pumps today can give real-time readings of the glucose levels and also show trends so that its user can intervene more quickly if a problem occurs.

Junior Shane McLaughlin was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 17.ÿ

“Wearing the insulin pump isn’t annoying at all actually,” he said. “I just don’t like it when people ask me why I’m wearing a
pager.”

The other major type is Type 2 diabetes, according to the NIDDK.ÿThis used to be something that occurred exclusively in adulthood.ÿ

“The age of people being diagnosed with the disease has been getting younger and younger,” said Jessica Hager, a nurse and diabetes educator at Marshfield Clinic, 900 W. Clairemont Ave.

Unhealthy eating, excessive drinking, and lack of exercise are all factors that may lead to obesity and ultimately to Type 2 diabetes, Hager said.ÿ However, she added, things don’t have to be that way.ÿ

“Simply eating right and exercising regularly can greatly decrease your chances,” she said.ÿ

Hager suggests that students should be watchful of their weight gain because many are not as active as they may have been in high school.

Drinking is another thing that students should be wary of, especially those with diabetes, according to NIDDK.ÿ Small amounts of alcohol can cause blood sugar to rise and excess amounts of alcohol can cause blood sugar to drop – sometimes dangerously.

According to the ADA, statistically the majority of students will never have to worry about diabetes, but for those who do, there are many new products that can make things easier.

There are many new medications to treat Type 2 diabetes.ÿ The one that came most recommended by the Diabetes Education Center at Marshfield Clinic, Hager said, was an injectableÿmedication called Byetta.

Byetta works by helping the body produce the right amount of insulin at the right time.ÿ The medicine comes in a pen with pre-measured doses so that users don’t have to measure out the doses themselves.

“It’s a lot more convenient for the patient” Hager said. “In many cases it is more effective than pills or insulin.”

Many of the newest innovations are still under construction, Hager said, addingÿthat although groups are trying to come out with sleeker and more convenient equipment, the diabetes treatment in place is just fine for now.ÿ

“As long as students maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Hager said, “diabetes will be something they don’t have to worry about.”